University of Waterloo Brain Bee

Fascinated by the human brain?

how chemical imbalances in the brain may cause a range of different neurological diseases?

If yes, then participate in the University of Waterloo’s Annual Brain Bee Competition! You will learn this and much more!

The University of Waterloo’s Department of Kinesiology is proud to host the annual University of Waterloo Brain Bee. It is an exciting opportunity for students to learn about the brain and the importance of brain research. It also provides the opportunity to visit the University and to meet some of our students and professors in kinesiology, neuroscience and other areas.

What is the Brain Bee competition?

The Brain Bee is a competition for high school students where competitors answer questions about the brain and neuroscience that are taken from a free introductory neuroscience publication/booklet available below.

First, second and third place prizes are awarded, $400, $200 and $100 respectively. All participants will get lunch and a gift package just for participating. The first place winner will move on to the Canadian National Brain Bee. The winner of the National will move on to the International Brain Bee (IBB), where competitors across the globe will compete for the international title and prizes.

The competition will take place using iclickers, which involves pressing a button to indicate your answer to a multiple choice question. Your answer will not be available to any of the other competitors or the audience, therefore the competition is completely anonymous. A computer will tally the results. Your family and friends are welcome to come and take the quiz, space permitting. However, their answers will not be counted towards winning the competition.

How can I participate?

After signing up, download the free study material and prepare for the competition! A link to the study material is provided in the next section. Review the information on this website and come back periodically for updates.

What do I need to study for the competition?

Download the free Neuroscience: Science of the Brain publication provided by the British Neuroscience Association. Study the information contained in this book. All the questions in the competition will be taken from this booklet only.

Sample questions which will be similar to the ones in the competition can be found at the end of the Brain Bee video which explains about the event.

Reference the free Brain Facts book provided by the Society for Neuroscience. This is the previous Brain Bee study guide, and can be used as an extra source of information.

For assistance with studying, review the information and sample questions on the National Brain Bee website. There are useful resources under Students > Preparing for the National that can also be used for extra information.